These meatballs are super tasty and they’re a favorite in our house! The dinner picture above was actually leftovers from the night before. This recipe is wonderful as a leftover (I believe it’s even tastier).

I usually made this recipe in my slow-cooker, but now that I have a pressure cooker, I have these ready in like 35 minutes. I’ll post instructions for cooking with both methods.

By the way, I share products that I feel are worth sharing with others. If you decide you love the products and went ahead and purchased them, I will be compensated in order to keep bringing you more healthy choices. Thank You!

Stovetop Pressure Cooker and Slow-Cooker method-

Ingredients:

For the Meatballs-

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (This is for browning the meatballs before adding to the sauce for cooking).

2 pounds of ground turkey (lean)

2/3 cups of cooked rice (I use leftover white Jasmine rice, but any rice will do)

Add the browned meatballs to the tomato sauce and ensure that each meatball is well covered with the sauce.

For the Slow Cooker Method: Cover and cook on low heat setting for 6 hours.

For the Stovetop Pressure Cooker Method:

Cook time: Close the cover tightly, make sure the pressure valve button is on food and not steam (this is the black button on top of the cover that turns either on steam or food setting. When the valve is on steam, it means the valve is opened, allowing steam to come out of the pot. You don’t want this when you’re cooking, you want to trap the steam to cook your food). See picture below.

Set a timer for 12 minutes on standby (you won’t need it right away, only once the red steam button reaches max steam);

Turn your burner to maximum heat and at the same time, turn on a second burner to medium-low heat (*number 2.5 on an electric range); This is necessary for quickly transferring your pot on a lower heat setting which will continue to maintain the steam inside the pressure cooker (not necessary to use the two burner method if you have a gas range– gas heat adjusts really fast and so, just put down your heat from maximum to medium-low on the same burner that you’re cooking with). (Read about med-low heat variations in the Troubleshooting, section B. below and also section C).

Do not leave the kitchen. You will need to keep an eye on the red button (on top of your cover- see picture above). As your pot is heating up, steam is forming inside, you will notice the red button jumping up and down and eventually staying up. Once the button stays up, transfer your pot to the second burner (which has been preheated) to medium-low, or 2.5. (See troubleshooting, section A below).

As soon as you make the transfer to your med-low heat, put on your timer for 12 minutes.

Once the timer goes off, remove the pressure cooker from the heated burner and let cool down naturally until the red button on the cover drops down- see picture above). If you’re in a hurry, you can slightly shift the steam pressure valve (just a bit, to slowly release the steam and once all of the steam is released, the red pressure button will drop and then open your pot and serve).

*Important: Never open the cover when the red, pressure button is up (see picture above). Always wait for the red button to drop first- Only then is it safe to open the cover because all of the pressure has been released.

There are two methods used to drop the red button: the quick release method where you shift the pressure valve button to release the steam immediately (beware: if you shift it all the way, it will be very noisy with a lot of pressure- I usually just shift it slightly and this permits steam to escape without it being too dramatic. The second method is by removing the pot from the heat and let it cool naturally (it takes longer).

Troubleshooting A.:

If The Red Button Drops During Low Heat Time: After you transfer your pot from high heat to medium-low heat, the red steam button should stay up for the duration you timed (12 minutes in this case). If the red button falls down during this time, this means you’ve lost your steam because the medium-low heat (2.5) wasn’t high enough to maintain the steam inside the pot (so, bring it up a bit) and repeat step 1 by placing your pot on a high heat burner once again until the red button pops up and transfer to your lower heat burner, and immediately time for 12 minutes.

Section B.

Medium-Low Heat Variations: Of course, this depends on your stove. The heat factor can vary from one stove to the next. You might need to adjust your medium-low heat setting. If the red button drops during the 12 minutes on medium-low heat, this means your low heat was too low and couldn’t maintain the steam inside the pot (see troubleshooting stovetop pressure cooker A.).

Once your pot adjusts to the med-low heat if you notice the pressure valve starts steaming just a little too much or it’s spitting out a bit, turn your medium-low heat down a bit (because it’s heating too much and the steam is building up inside).

At this point, you will discover the perfect medium-low heat setting for cooking with your pressure cooker.

Section C.

The reason for having a second burner ready is because an electric stove doesn’t adjust quickly enough to the temperature change and it will result in loss of steam inside the pot. The key to successfully cooking with the stovetop pressure cooker is keeping your steam trapped for the duration needed. Of course, if you have a gas range, you don’t need to shift your pot around. All you need to do is reduce the heat from maximum to med-low and proceed.

Let me know how you liked it, post a photo of how it turned out and #mommyslittleblackapron & @mommyslittleblackapron. Links to my social media are located at the footer of my page. Thank you, talk to you soon!

These were quick, easy, and fun! What more can I ask for? I served these with a creamy coleslaw for some crunch and contrast. I can see how these would be a perfect clean-out-the-fridge meal too. You could add any veggies you like/have to the meat mixture. I’m thinking of making these again, but Greek-style with a delicious tzatziki sauce with fresh summer cucumbers.

Soup may not be the first thought for a summer dinner, but this was delicious, and extremely calorie-friendly. I loved the way the flavors meld together. I think next time I would puree it in my blender (here’s the one I use) because I didn’t get it quite as smooth as I wanted with my immersion blender.

A

Do you have a Red Robin near you? I LOVE their Whiskey River BBQ Burger. It’s the only thing I order when I go there. So when I saw this Copycat Red Robin Whiskey River BBQ Burger on Love Bakes Good Cakes, I had to make it immediately.

Copycat Red Robin Whiskey River BBQ Burger

Yum, yum, yum! The BBQ sauce was amazing, and the burger came together perfect on an onion bun (my one modification when I go to Red Robin).

Four ingredients, and it comes together in almost as quickly as you can cook rice. In my case, it only took me ten minutes, because I had some leftover brown rice (whenever I make rice, I make a big batch and freeze the extra. It makes my life super easy, and they store flat in freezer bags.) For something so easy and minimal, this had fantastic flavor! I didn’t add anything to it.

Directions:
1. Wash as much lettuce as you want/need first so it has time to dry while you cook.
2. In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium-high heat (or high heat if your stove is weak). Add the garlic, onion, and turkey. Break the meat up with a spoon (I use wooden or silicon) to cook until browned.
3. Mix the tomato (or spaghetti) sauce, barbecue sauce, and Worcestershire sauce into the turkey mixture. Season with pepper. Reduce heat and simmer until thickened.

I like to add pickles, particularly Vlasic Zesty Bread and Butter Chips that I get at Kroger. This is totally optional as those specific pickle slices are about 35 calories and 8g of sugar per 3 slices!

Eating these Sloppy Joes like an actually sandwich is SUPER sloppy, so I usually give up and end up eating it like a lettuce taco or a salad the second time around. Obviously this is not the healthiest recipe as the tomato (or spaghetti) and barbecue sauces have a lot of sugar and preservatives, but whatever close enough.

ENJOY!

]]>https://runningyourbody.wordpress.com/go/recipes/gluten-free-spicy-asian-turkey-lettuce-wraps/
Wed, 15 Apr 2015 23:21:54 +0000runningyourbodyhttps://runningyourbody.wordpress.com/go/recipes/gluten-free-spicy-asian-turkey-lettuce-wraps/My mother in law left us with some live butter lettuce over the weekend, and it proved to be perfect for making lettuce wraps with. This truly decadent lettuce holds it’s form to make the perfect flexible wrap to hold safe veggies and meat. In this particular recipe I utilized meat, vegetables, and a block of tofu as well.

Ingredients:

1 Block Firm Tofu

4 oz. Ground turkey meat

2 green bell peppers-diced

2 green onions-diced

1 tsp. garlic salt

1/8 tsp. black pepper

1/4 cup Tamari Sauce-or other gluten free soy sauce

3 tbs. chili paste

1 bundle live butter lettuce-washed and pulled from base

1 tbs. coconut oil

Directions:

In a large sauce pan warm coconut oil over medium heat. Place ground turkey into pan and brown, cooking thoroughly. Once turkey has been thoroughly cooked, add tofu and cook for 8 minutes until tofu has a slightly brown tint as well.

One of the hardest things for me in my weight loss journey was finding foods that tasted great but were also great for me. I’m sure you are all nodding your heads right now…it’s nearly impossible! I just wanted to give up and keep being an unhealthy, somewhat happy little foodie…

So, one of the reasons I decided to do this blog/website thingamajig is so that I can also share my recipes. I get so many requests for what I post pictures of, that how could I not share the yummy goodness?

We LOVE Chinese food in our house. But really- have you ever checked out the nutritional values of your favorite menu items…Crab Rangoon…General Tso’s…Sweet and Sour Chicken…Egg Rolls…AUUUGGHHHH! If you were eating one meal all week long and it was Chinese- you’d be set because that stuff just ain’t good for you!! You could spread out all that badness across the whole week and maybe not feel quite so bad about it. See where I’m heading here? Yep. I’m gonna tell you how to make a fantastic Asian inspired meal that won’t ruin your diet or kill your points when you’re counting. And you’re gonna LOVE it!!

It’s a meal you can enjoy for under 600 calories…who doesn’t love that?

This is really one of the easiest meals to make and once you’ve done it, you’ll go back to it again and again…

Trust me on this one. Give it a whirl and tell me that it’s not delish and simple!! Head into the kitchen and have fun!!

Preheat your oven to 450 degrees; line a cookie sheet with parchment paper and get ready to rock!!

Asian Turkey Meatballs

Ingredients:

20 oz. pkg. Ground Turkey, 93% lean

1 egg, beaten

3 green onions, sliced thin, whites and greens

3 TBS. chopped cilantro leaves

2 tsp. Sesame Oil

2 TBS. Low Sodium Soy Sauce

3 TBS. minced Ginger (I use the stuff in the tube, refrigerated, found near the fresh herbs in the produce section)

Use salt only if desired to bring up flavors. Serve with AsianMeatballs.

Serving Size: 3/4 cup Veggie Fried Rice; 5 Asian Turkey Meatballs

]]>https://themamabearblog.wordpress.com/go/bears-grub/monday-yums/monday-yums-curry-turkey-smash/
Tue, 03 Feb 2015 01:40:44 +0000mama bearhttps://themamabearblog.wordpress.com/go/bears-grub/monday-yums/monday-yums-curry-turkey-smash/I didn’t know what else to call this, but it is a smash. It’s so easy, quick and a one-pot meal. It’s one of my favorite winter meals, and with this cold rush, I thought it was appropriate to share tonight.

What you need…

1 pound of ground turkey

2 sweet potatoes, chopped into bite sizes (I leave the skin)

1 small yellow onion, chopped

1 cup of frozen peas

1 can of diced tomatoes

3 cloves of minced garlic

1 tablespoon of curry

1 teaspoon of cumin

1 teaspoon of chili powder

1 teaspoon fresh ground pepper

What to do…

In a pot, cook the ground turkey. Season with fresh ground pepper.

Add the minced garlic and chopped onion. Cook for about 5 minutes.

Add the sweet potatoes, spices and can of diced tomatoes (add the liquid, do not drain)

Fill the can about half way with water, add to the pot and bring to a boil.

Once at a boil, bring down to a simmer and cover. Cook for about 15 minutes or until the sweet potatoes are tender.

Add the frozen peas, stir for about two minutes or until peas have cooked.

Serve in bowls and enjoy! There ends up being a little liquid, so I think Naan bread would be a great compliment. However, I try to be conscious of my carb intake, so I decided to not indulge. Oh, to be 20 again and to not have to worry about eating bread and cheese all day…

I LOVE STROGANOFF. LIKE LOVE IT LOVE IT. Am I alone in this feeling of adoration for the sour cream and mushroom loaded goodness? Of course not. The world is full of stroganoff hearters. Now, let me let you in on a little secret: ’round this house we eat groceries. I was raised in Georgia (AKA: JAWJA) and raised on fried okra, biscuits and gravy and old fashioned conconut cake. Food, Church and Hank Williams Jr. { Haha, my little Jawjan friends near and far are noddin’ their heads in agreement right now.} I will never be one of those “I eat only organic mixed greens for supper” kind of girls. {More Jawjan friend nods.} A part of me would seriously die. DEAD. I mean, they call it “Soul Food” because #truestory.

HOWEVERRrrrrRRRRrrrr, I enjoying buttoning my britches in the morning and NOT completely hyperventilating while chasing around my busload of children. Therefore, I have learned a few little trickies over the years that cut back on the calories and fat…but as long as I live and breathe there will always be mashed potatoes and fettucini in my diet. I’m just sayin’. Go ahead and do your cauliflower thing, Atkins people…I just need some pasta that looks and tastes like pasta and potatoes that look and taste like potatoes every now and then.

Moving on. Stroganoff Bake. This one is a little different because I’m the rowdy rebellious type and decided to switch the egg noodles for ziti. THUG LIFE! (I’m a big fan of using what I have in my pantry because those long ago “I’ll just run into the grocery store for a singular item” days ended 3 children ago.)

Ingredients: (Ziti not pictured because I was still convinced that I had a lone bag of egg noodles hidden behind a cereal box somewhere.)

-1.25 lbs Ground Turkey

-container of portabella mushrooms (sliced)

-one medium onion (chopped)

-2 cups mozzarella cheese

-1/8 cup worcestershire sauce

-1 can Campbells’ healthy request cream of mushroom soup

-1 can (empty soup can) fat free half and half and 1 can water

-1 cup sour cream

-salt and pepper to taste

-1/2 box ziti

-parsley

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Bring water to a boil in a large pot. Cook pasta according to package directions. Brown ground turkey and drain off fat. Set aside. Sautee onions and mushrooms. (I use cooking spray. Feel free to use olive oil or butter.) Add ground turkey to onions and mushrooms along with soup, Worcestershire, fat free half and half, water and sour cream. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 5-7 minutes or until thickened. (Keep stirring to prevent sticking. Nothing makes my eye twitch more than food sticking to a sautee pan.)

Combine stroganoff mixture and drained pasta. Add mixture to a casserole dish coated with cooking spray. Top with mozzarella and bake for 20-25 minutes. Garnish with parsley.

I hope you all are having a fabulous weekend! I am currently sticking to the 21 Day Fix meal plan because I am DETERMINED to lose the last 7 pounds of “baby weight” before this new year hits!

I whipped up these delicious little ground turkey meatloaf muffins so I wanted to share!

All measurements are approximate, I just used what I thought would be best! Feel free to use whatever seasonings you have on hand and like in your meatloaf, you do NOT have to use the ones I have here!

If you are like me and are following the 21 Day Fix two of these will count as one red container! Don’t have the 21 Day Fix? Find it HERE and then friend me on Facebook (Facebook.com/linseybritton ) and I will get you added to a super awesome accountability group!

Name(required)

Email(required)

Website

Comment(required)

]]>https://tabithamorrison.wordpress.com/go/food-2/shepards-pie/
Fri, 21 Nov 2014 04:44:01 +0000tabithamorrisonhttps://tabithamorrison.wordpress.com/go/food-2/shepards-pie/I had some ground turkey to use up-I usually make turkey burritos with it but I decided to find something new and different to switch the menu up.

Of course there is thousands of ground turkey recipes but I picked shepards pie because I had never had it before and what do you know? I also had potatoes to use up.

Snip the bacon into small chunks and cook in oil in the skillet, add the turkey into the same pan as bacon to cook together. Add poultry seasoning, salt, and pepper to taste.

Preheat oven on broil to 500 degrees.

Move turkey and bacon to the side of the pan and add in the carrots and onions. Cook them separately from the meat until they are slightly translucent, then mix everything together. Add last portion 1/3 cup cream to mixture.

Cover the skillet with aluminum foil and cook together for about 10 minutes.

Place turkey mixture in a dish of choice, top with mashed potatoes. Broil until the potatoes are slightly browned. Top with paprika.

My husband had also never had this before and it was a huge hit. We had leftovers but they didn’t last long. It was our dinner for the week! It worked out great!

I thought I would share my dinner from last night since it was quite a cute dish- very delicious and relatively simple! Not much of a formal recipe this time, but I could do more of a traditional recipe if you all would be interested. I’m particularly proud of this dish not only because it turned out beautifully (in taste and appearance!), but also because I just conjured up this “recipe” and made things up as I went along. It’s nice to follow a recipe and cook a great meal, but there’s a certain satisfaction and pride of whipping together something at will, using your intuition to combine ingredients and create taste profiles, and then producing a physical manifestation of your creativity. Cooking is an art, truly. How else can you define the ability to grab some thirteen odd ingredients, throw them together, and produce something tasty and healthy? As surprising as it may be, knowing my science background, I was a very creative child and loved the arts- writing, drawing, doing skits, and whatever was the childhood bliss du jour. The kitchen is my new easel, except now I paint not only with color, but with taste, texture, composition, nutrition, and love. I think the biggest key to making the experience of cooking one that is artful is to put love, pride, and care into everything you make. Your food is a manifestation of you, it is born of you, it carries your essence. Be genuine, creative, brave, and determined, and your food will reward you. Your kitchen may not reward you… as mine is always resembles a tornado’s warpath after I finish cooking a detailed meal. Thankfully the meal you just prepared is soo healthy that it will give you all the necessary energy to get off your ass and clean the kitchen (or persuade the recipient of your cooking to do so!) ;)

For the veggie turkey meatballs, I added grated homegrown zucchini, grated carrots, chopped green onion, diced red pepper, and diced red onion to ground turkey. I added some gluten free panko breadcrumbs and seasoned with salt and pepper. I placed them on an oiled cookie sheet in a convection oven set at 350ºF for 15 minutes, took them out and flipped them over, and cooked them for another 15 minutes. For the rice noodles, I boiled some plain GF vegan rice noodles, rinsed with cold water, and returned to heat. I added some Bragg’s Amino Acids (tastes reminiscent of soy sauce or tamari) and chili powder. I plated the noodles, topped with a couple turkey meatballs, drizzled some more Bragg’s Amino Acids on the dish, and garnished with some cilantro.

I made quite a lot of noodles, and the turkey meatball “recipe” yielded an entire cookie sheet of meatballs. In all, this yielded about three servings: dinner… lunch… snack? I usually like to make at least two servings of whatever I cook for dinner, so that my lunch for tomorrow is ready to go and full of home-cooked deliciousness. However, I don’t even know what to do with three servings! Unfortunately, I had no one with whom to share this little invented-on-the-fly dish, so I will instead eat noodles fo dayz (pho dayz?) and show you all pretty pictures!

]]>https://whataboutthis.biz/go/uncategorized/lasagna-with-turkey-sausage/
Tue, 15 Jul 2014 15:48:13 +0000Linnellhttps://whataboutthis.biz/go/uncategorized/lasagna-with-turkey-sausage/ Serve lasagna in the summer? You bet! Tender noodles sandwich layers of flavorful tomato-turkey sauce and creamy three-cheese blend. Fresh herbs and mozzarella add a bright flavor and a classic texture. Just add a crisp green salad and a glass of wine and you have a perfect summer meal.

8. Ladle 1/3 of the sauce into a 9 by 12 by 2-inch rectangular baking dish, spreading the sauce over the bottom of the dish. Then add the layers as follows: half the pasta, half the mozzarella, half the ricotta, and one third of the sauce. Add the rest of the pasta, mozzarella, ricotta, and finally, sauce.

9. Sprinkle with 1/4 cup of Parmesan. Bake for 30 minutes, until the sauce is bubbling.

Yields: 8 servings

LINNELL’S NOTES
1. I used 2 pounds of turkey sausage and 1 pound of ground turkey meat for a heartier sauce.

2. I also added half of a jar of spaghetti sauce that I had in the refrigerator.

3. I purchased a chub of pre-sliced fresh mozzarella. In order to distribute it more evenly, I sliced each round in half (half-moons).

4. I put my 9 by 13-inch baking pan on a parchment paper-covered baking sheet before putting it in the oven. I’m glad I did, because the bubbling lasagna overflowed.

5. To aid preparation, the sauce can be made the night before serving and reheated a bit before layering the lasagna the following day.

Enjoy!

]]>https://tonedaftertwins.wordpress.com/go/recipes/quick-and-simple-turkey-broccoli-pasta/
Thu, 12 Jun 2014 05:54:15 +0000LindsayMachttps://tonedaftertwins.wordpress.com/go/recipes/quick-and-simple-turkey-broccoli-pasta/Looking for something quick to whip up for dinner tonight? My Madelynn would eat pasta every night of the week if she could! And as much as I love a good alfredo sauce, this pasta is still delicious but much lighter! It’ll also take you less than twenty minutes to have on the table for the whole family to enjoy!

Ingredients:

3/4 lb orecchiette or fusilli pasta

2 cups organic broccoli florets

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 lb ground turkey

1/2 onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, chopped

1 tsp fennel seed

1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper

1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning

salt, pepper, parmesan to taste

Directions:

1. Cook pasta according to package. Add broccoli during the last minute. Drain; return to pot.

2. At the same time, add turkey, onion, garlic, fennel seed, red pepper, Italian seasoning and 1 tablespoon of the oil to a large skillet over med-high heat. Cook until brown.

]]>https://modernlatinamommy.wordpress.com/go/recipes/mexican-picadillo/
Sat, 07 Jun 2014 02:32:30 +0000Modern Latina Mommyhttps://modernlatinamommy.wordpress.com/go/recipes/mexican-picadillo/https://www.myothermoreexcitingself.com/go/uncategorized/sunday-night-miscellany/
Mon, 19 May 2014 01:39:59 +0000MNGobbleGalhttps://www.myothermoreexcitingself.com/go/uncategorized/sunday-night-miscellany/How was your weekend? The last five days for us have been so much fun! And amazingly, even the weather took a turn for the better and today, we managed to make it over 70 degrees and it felt pretty incredible.

I’ve got tons of photos to share so this post will be more visual than written – I hope you don’t mind. :)

Here’s our artist and writer in training – and this entire month of May, a book Joe wrote and illustrated has been on display at the Paramount Theater in St. Cloud, MN as part of a special student-teacher art exhibit called “I am an Artist.” Joe wrote his book – “Strike of the Shadow Dragons” – under the guidance of an amazing art teacher, Lee Ann, who (bonus!) also happens to be our next door neighbor.

On Thursday, we attended a reception for the exhibit and Joe was so proud to be a part of it. He has such a special relationship with Lee Ann, who also was at the reception, and it’s been fun to see them work together. She inspires him to let his creativity shine, and I really think his passion for art inspires her right back.

Just for fun, here’s a project Lee Ann worked on with another group of students that involved mixed media – I love all the colors and different designs!

On Saturday, my sister came for a visit and brought this lovely little girl with her – Miss Morgan, who will soon be five months old. We’re all in love with her, so basically, we just lay her on the floor and all sit around and stare at her with delight!

Seriously, how can you resist those big eyes? (Or as Joe said, “Your resistance is futile.”)

And here’s my “Gerber Baby” picture! This was the best way to wake up this morning – seeing her bright, sparkling eyes and big smile.

Joe is enamored with his new baby cousin and is really good at making Miss Morgan smile.

Joe also read a new book to Miss Morgan – Chick and Pug. (Get it? Poultry and a pug all in the same book – this should’ve been written by me. Only it wasn’t!)

Speaking of Earl the pug, he was very curious about Miss Morgan.

And we had another dog for the weekend, too. My sister brought her “first baby” – Avery, a very handsome and sweet German Shorthair Pointer, who has tons of energy and loves to go for long walks on the path behind our house. He’s like a 6 year old boy who finds every single mud hole along the way and isn’t afraid to jump right in! Here, he lost his ball in one of those mud holes and Joe tried to help him find it. Unfortunately neither one of them had much luck, which disappointed Avery at first but he quickly found another tennis ball in the tall grass and was back to his happy self again.

Of course we enjoyed happy hour on our porch on Saturday night – this is a tradition Teacher Man and I have most weekends when we are home. This weekend, I made cosmopolitans to celebrate sisterhood (Teacher Man stuck with a traditional favorite of ours, the sidecar) and I have decided, quite by accident, that using freshly-squeezed lime juice adds an amazing flavor to these cocktails. (This happens when you think you have a full bottle of lime juice in the refrigerator but it turns out you only have two fresh limes.)

These are my favorite martini glasses ever, by the way – my brother-in-law gave them to me for Christmas a few years ago and each of the four glasses in the set has a slightly different pattern etched into the glass. So fun!

We also ate a very summertime meal – turkey burgers on the grill, homemade potato salad and our favorite tomato, chives and parmesan pasta salad. The turkey burger recipe was seriously fantastic and comes from one of my favorite food bloggers, Iowa Girl Eats: Chipotle Cheddar Turkey Burgers with Avocado Crema. You MUST try it, especially if you think ground turkey is bland. (It is bland, but that’s why it handles different spices so well. You have to liven ground turkey up to really understand how good turkey burgers can be. Trust me on this.)

This photo is lame, by the way, because we were starving and I forgot to take a really decent picture of the burger with the bun before it was devoured.

I also made Iowa Girl Eats’ classic potato salad for the first time, which we liked quite a bit – although we felt the recipe needed some pepper to really give it the best flavor.

Here’s the recipe for the tomato chives and parmesan pasta salad, which I blogged about last summer. I was actually able to use fresh chives from my garden already! I had transferred my chives last fall from a container to a spot in my raised bed vegetable garden and miraculously the plant not only made it through our terribly cold winter, but it also started growing right away this spring. Love that!

While my sister was putting Morgan to bed Saturday night, I snuck outside with a quilt and my glass of wine while Teacher Man played fetch with Avery for a good 45 minutes. (I told you that dog has endless levels of energy! We went pheasant hunting with him once, and you can read about that cool experience here.) While the air was still a bit cool for my taste, the evening truly was beautiful and I was comfy in my quilt.

Sunday afternoon, after my sister and her crew headed back home (we missed her hubby, Clay, who had to work all weekend!), I set off for my favorite nursery and garden center in Buffalo, The Rustic Garden, where I shopped for nearly an hour. It was time to get my container gardening started!

I spent the better part of the afternoon planting several pots, which was pretty much the most perfect end to a fabulous weekend. And while Monday sounds a little rainy, the rest of the week bodes well for my next gardening projects: the vegetable gardens (where I will plant onions, carrots, yellow beans, peppers, tomatoes and winter squash) and my new bed of zinnias. I have this sort of wacky idea to plant an 8 x 8 plot of soil with several rows of different varieties of zinnias, which are one of my favorite flowers. I’ve got the ideal sunny spot in mind and most of my seed packs are ready. I’ll keep you posted on how it turns out!

Have a great week, everyone – and if you do try those chipotle cheddar turkey burgers (you won’t regret it, I promise), I’d love to hear from you on how they turned out!

]]>https://rookierunninglife.wordpress.com/go/healthy-eating/mini-bbq-cheddar-turkey-meatloaves/
Wed, 09 Apr 2014 18:47:55 +0000Jess Brancohttps://rookierunninglife.wordpress.com/go/healthy-eating/mini-bbq-cheddar-turkey-meatloaves/I recently attended my first ever Pampered Chef party, and absolutely loved it! The best part is I now have kitchen utensils and tools that I can’t live without – especially this Pampered Chef brownie pan:

Pampered Chef brownie pan

There’s so many recipes you can create with this, not just brownies. The other night, I really wanted to make a meatloaf during the week so I thought the brownie pan was the perfect way to cut down on cooking time. In under 30 minutes, I served mini BBQ cheddar turkey meatloaves at the dinner table, and the size not only helped speed up the process, but also helped control my portions.

Here’s what you’ll need to make about 11-12 of these heavenly little loaves:

2) In a large bowl, combine egg, seasonings, Worcestershire sauce and a chopped onion (your hands are the best utensil for this).

3) Incorporate the ground turkey and bread crumbs into the mixture, making sure not to overwork your turkey. The amount of bread crumbs used will vary; keep adding a bit until you reach your desired consistency.

Before mixing my turkey and bread crumbs. I was probably rolling up my sleeves.

4) Divide the mixture into your brownie pan. Using the back of the spoon or your hand, create a small indentation in the middle of each mini loaf. Bake for about 20-25 minutes in your preheated oven.

Ready to hit the oven. Notice my small indentations. These will come in handy!

5) After 20-25 minutes, check on your pan and remove any excess grease that may have surfaced into your indentation. Since we used ground turkey, there shouldn’t be a lot of grease. However, if you use beef in the future, be aware.

6) Spread barbecue sauce into each divot and sprinkle with cheddar cheese. Return the pan into the oven until the cheese is melted, or about 3-5 minutes.

Fresh out of the oven. Yum!

Serve and enjoy!

Even the manliest men in your home will enjoy this dish. It’s a quick, lightened up take on a classic – and a keeper if you’re into fast and easy home style meals.

I served it up with a side of roasted summer squash.

The best part is, you can keep making this recipe and switch up your ingredients. For example, one week substitute the barbecue sauce for ketchup and make it a traditional mini meatloaf. Creativity is key with both this recipe and the brownie pan.

Show some love to the one you are with by feeding them a healthy meal that fills them up without weighing them down. Look beyond red meat and wheat pasta and check out your local grocery store’s healthy living aisle with your favorite mealtime staples substituted with different ingredients that give you the same great taste, without the nutrient waste. My mom found a new brand of dried pasta made from sweet corn, squash and carrots to give you a #glutenfree and #paleo meal that the entire family will love. I love to make zucchini pasta, but Trey thinks the fresh vegetable texture is not comparable to real spaghetti. Now with this new dried paleo pasta in my cupboard, I can fold in ground turkey and garden, fresh kale to let everyone in my family know that #ikaleaboutthemsomuch and praise my delicious, paleo dish.